Platen release for printing presses



Aug. "9 "1927" H. c. osaoRN PLATE BELESE FO PRINTING PRESSES img Fama; 1923 1 4 sheets-sheet 1` Aug.4 1927.

' 1,638,506 H. c. osBoRN PLATEN RELEASE AFOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Feb. 5. 1923 -4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ina/ENZ V0J? 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ,W 16ml Aug. .9 1927.

H. vc:. osBoRN PLATEN RELEASE Fon PRINTING PRESSES Filed Feb. 5. 192s Aug. 9, 1927.

' H. c. osBoRN A PLATEN RELEASE Fon PRINTING PRESSES K Filed'Feb. 19235` Y4 sheets-shea@ v4 'Y 7 v ff z jj' e V30 My means for controlling the operation invention; Fig. 2. is aplan of the portion of 8o Patented Aug. 9, 1927. i I sllJmrli.o l Vsra#resd PATENT Worries.

HENRY o. o'sBonN, or CLEVELAND, onto, A'ssIeNon 'ro THEAMERIGAN YivIUL'rIGn.ern conrANY, or CLEVELAND, c1110, A CORPORATION on onro.

PLATE RELASE FOR vPR-DYIING PRESSES.

kApplication filed February 5, 1923.- `Serial No. 616,924.

This invention relates to mechanism 'for paper and respond properly to the presence controlling the coordination of two cc-opor absence thereof, and still have force erating members yin' such manner that the enough toactuatefthe platen moving mechas`r control .is determined bv the movement or. nism. Honqnovgnent of th@ a .CAQ Y() be: ACS, UPOH EL .'PI'OPQI' elllbodlmenb Of ll'lVeIllJlIl 50 rather than by the presence or absence of licontrolrthepositioning of the platen, -not such-article. Nun crous safety or throwout by thepresence or absence lof the paper,:but mechanism have been designed for .various by reason .ofthe movement of the paper. I types of machinery, operative on the prin! find that by this principle 'I can obtain sat- 10 ciple of test-ing for the presence or absence isfactory .results With al1 grades of paper, 65 ofithe article-*robe act t.. on and .throwing and Jmoreover, even though the paper vbe out of connection, or vfailing to throw into properly fedtotheplaten,unless itzbe actuconnection, thewactuating mechanism when ally-gripped thereby the :platen is mainthe article is absent. NOW such principle of tained in idle position.

15 operatioirhas. limitations and is frequently `My invention may be adapted7 for exam- :0

ectivevbecause it is either necessarv ple, for bed and Ycylinder presses, and is non-eff to arrange the mec ianism so thatpthe testing illuust-ratedl herein as applied 'to a pressof is made with the :article in its operative the type wherein the vcylinder or platen position-frequently impracticable 'from a makestwo rotationsto each ycomplete recip- 20 mechanical standpoint or ifthetes A! rocation of the bed, onerotation correspond- 75 usual made in advance thereof, faiui-e of ing -to-the printing stroke ,andthe next rothe varticle to mov-e from the testing position tation effecting the delivery of the printed to the active position has no controllingeisheet ,While the bed is returning to initial feet and a` faulty operation results. Accordposition. The invention is hereinafter more ing to the lprinciple of my invention, the fully explained in connection with the draw- 8o mechanism is inactive even though the lngs, 4andftheessential features are summarticle be present at the testing` point unless ized inthe claims. such article isactually moving into they op- .ln the draWingspFigfl isa side elevation erative position. of a-bed and cylinder press employingfmy dependent on-the movement. or non-move-- the machine embodying my invention; Fig. ment of the article is adaptable for a variety 3 is a vertical central section through the of .machines, among Which may be menplaten on. a larger scale, as indicated by the ticned impressing ymechanisms of various line 3 3 on'Fig. Fig. i is a detail in side 37* sorts Where a coaction ofthe impressing elevation of mechanism adjacent to. the for- 90 members in the absence of the article is to Wardend'ofthe paper table looking in the be avoided. As an illustrationvof suchimopposite direct-ienl from Fig. 3, being a secpressing mechanism, Imay cite theprintingV tion, indicated by the line 4-4 in Fig. 2; press Where the platen shouldjbev maintained Fig.r 5, isa transverse vertical-section .along out of contact with the type bed Whenever thez platen shaft; ll'ig.- 6 is a detailof the 9F the'feeding mechanism fails to present paper cam andlever mechanism which c-ontrols the for.printingthus avoiding the inlring of the shaft of the platen; 7 is a detail in platen surface and the resultant odset print front elevation of; the mechanism sho-Wn in ing on the back of a subsequent sheet. Fi@ *.6; F'g. 8 is .a sectional end vieWof a A frequent form of platen release operan por n ofthe platen, illustrating the mech- 10H tive .upon failure `in the feeding of paper, anism -for controlling the gripper. comprises .lingers which test for the presence Thebedand .cylmder press shown in the or absence of paper, the fingers being redrawings to .illustrate Aplaten release strained by the paper When present but almechanism. is the invention of Lawrence. H. "i" levied to move into another position When Morse and` shown in his application No. litthe paper is absent, there being mechanism 602,161 filed November 20,1922, and referactuated by such movement to release'the enceshouldy be made to thatapplication for platen. lith such mechanisms difficulty claims .onany-features of theconstruction has been'experienced*infmalzing the mecha` shown not concernedfivith the, automatic 're nism sensitive enough ynot to injure thin lease of the platen. I will .first-briefly de# 'tlc scribe the press shown in order that the operation of my mechanism may be clearly understood, but it yshould be particularly noted that my invention is not confined to such bed and cylinder press.

ln Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, 10 indicates the frame of the press and 11 a reciprocating type bed carrying a suitable printing form as 12 and guided by said frame and slidable on suitable interposed rollers 13. Rising from the frame are standards 14 in which are journaled the eccentric ends 15 of a shaft 16 on which the platen 17 is journaled. I have illustrated a sprocket chain 18 connected with a block .19 slidable in vertical ways 20 on the type bed as a means for reciprocating such bed. l have shown a sprocket chain 21 for rotating the platen. l have also indicated at 22, 23 and 24 suitable inking mechanism, a paper supply table, and a delivery table, respectively. The paper ejeeting mechanism, the mechanism for operating the inker, and various other mechanisms of a complete press are omitted.

Keyed on one end of the eccentrically mounted platen shaft 16 is an arm 26 which is connected by an adjustable link 27 with a rock arm 23, the other end of which is rigidly mounted on the outer end of a rock shaft 29 journaled in the standard lll. On the inner end of this rock shaft 29 is the lever 30 which carries roller 31 which is adapted to be engaged and operated by a cam 32 on the reciprocating type bed l1. Accordingly, when this cam acts on the roller the platen shaft is turned in the direction toI lower the platen into position to coact with the type for printing. lli/'hen the cam clears the roller 31 a spring 33 returns the parts to initial position thereby elevating the platen to idle position.

rlhe mechanism described turns the platen to active position once every complete reciprocation of the type bed, but whether the platen remains down or not depends on whether the arm 26 becomes latched; otherwise the spring 33 immediately returns the platen to idle position. Fig. 1 shows at 35 a latch adapted to coact with the arm 26 and hold the platen active, the latch being shown in this figure as idle, being retained elevated by a. locking dog 40. rlhis dog is acted on by my mechanism hereinafter described, and is thereby raised free from the latch whenever the paper is being properly drawn along by the platen, and when so raised'a spring l-l lowers the latch 35 into position to engage the arm 2G, thereby retaining the platen in its active position.

At the end of the printing stroke another cam Ll5 on the type bed coacts with a roller 4:6 cn the arm l? which acts to compress a spring 113 between the arm and a shoulder on a rod t9 connected to the latch 35. Such compression does not instantly cause the release of the latch by reason of the friction between its end and the arm 26, but immediately following the compression of the spring 48 the cam L15 acts on the roller 31 on the armv 30 to turn the arm 26 sufficiently to free the latch 35, and thereupon the spring t3 instantly withdraws the latch 35 from the path of the arm 26, and then as soon as the cam l5 clears the roller 31 the spring 33 returns the platen to idle position.

The paper to be fed (A in Fig. 3) is shown as resting on a paper table 23 and is shoved manually or otherwise toward the right in ig. 3, a sheet at a time, with' its front portion passing between guides 52 and 53 until the front edo'e abuts a series of stop fingers 54 above the platen. The platen is provided with suitable gripping fingers carried on'a rocking bar 61 which is controlled by suitable mechanism to cause the lingers to swing away from the platen following the printing stroke to discharge the paper and thereafter just after the fingers pass under the edge of the sheet the fingers swing rapidly toward the platen and thus grip the sheet.

The gripper bar G1 is mounted on a shaft (53 which is journaled in the platen and eX- tends beyond it carrying a pinion 65. This pinion, as shown in F 3, meshes with a segment gear 66 mounted on the drum. The segment carries a roller 67 which coacts with a stationary cam 68 surrounding the axis of rotation. A spring 69 tends to draw the roller toward the cam and such movement rotates the gripper shaft in a direction to carry the fingers away from the drum. The cam .is so shaped that before the gripper comes adjacent to the edge of the paper, the gripper is released by the cam and rocked by the spring 69 into open position. rllhen, just after the gripper lingers pass the edge of the paper, the cam acting on Vthe roller causes the gripper lingers to move rapidly toward the drum, this movement bringing the fingers toward the paper faster than the rotation of the drum carries the gripper away from the paper, the lingers thus swinging between the separated members 5% of the paper stop and gripping the paper between the fingers GO and the drum so that the paper is drawn along by the rotation of the drum. "During the printing stroke, the gripper is latehed closed by suitable mechanism not shown, so that the roller cannot approach the cam and open the gripper before it is desired to release the pa 3er. rlhis latch is controlled by suitable two-to-one gearing hereinafter mentioned, whereby it operates on every alternate rotation of the platen.

The mechanism so far described, with the exception of the locking dog Ll0 for the platen latch 35, is independent of my invention. As hereinbefore stated, my invention provides means actingfon the locking 'dog Ll0, and moved automaticallywby the 'travel of the paper when gripped, to move the dog into position to release the latch to allow the platen vto function. lThis mechanism will now be described.

70 designates a roller flattened on one side mounted on a shaft 7'1 ijournaled in arms 7 2 and 7 3 which are keyed to" a rock shaft'Tl.

'This roel; shaft 7e is shown as mounted in of the platen.

It results from the mechanism just decribed that on every alternate rotation of the platen, the cam 7 9 acting on tie roller' 7S through the rock shafts and rock arms mentioned, lowers the roller 7 O'into engagement with the paper in opposition to the plate 52 which is below the paper. In its idle position, the roller has its flattenedface substantiallyvertical, as indicated by brolren lines in Fig. 4. `When it is lowered into coaction with the plate 52, unless the paper between'them is moving no actiontranspires, but if the paper is moving forwardly (as'it must be, when gripped bythe gripper) the roller is thereby rotated, the lower edge forwardly, until the flattened face comes approximately horizontally, in which position it is stopped by a pin 87, Fig. t, engaging a stop pin S8. rThis partial rotation of the roller and its shaft 71 turns an eccentric 90 on the end of the shaft against the upstanding arm 91 `of the dog` et() andl thus withdraws this dog from engagement with the platen retaining latch '35against the action of the spring 4l, this spring serving the double purpose of acting. both lon the dog and the latch.

After the cam 79 has clearedthe roller 7 8 so that the paper testing` roller 70 is elevated, a spring` 95 returns this roller 70 to initial position. rllhis spring is shown as connected by a link 96 with a crank pin 97 on the end of the eccentric 90. The paper having turned the roller 70 `far enough to carry the crank pin 97 past'the dead center, the'spring 95 completes the rotation ofthe roller as soon asthe pin 87 `,clears the pin 88, upon the elevation of the roller.

It will be seenffrom the mechanism described, that periodically, following the .point inthe cycle when the paper should'be gripped,va testing' is made forthemovement of such paper. If thepaper is notibothpresent and moving, the action 'is idle and the rFhis cam i platen Alatch remains locked, so that when the reciprocating'bed turns the platen down 'it will not remain down but will immediately return to idle position. On the other` hand, if the paper is presentV and moving,

`thenthe dog is moved to release the latch movement rather than by its presence or absence, is unimportant characteristic, since it `prevents action whenever the gripper for any reason-misses the paper, even though it maybe properly fed by hand. The operation is rapid yand efficient and is independent of the'lrind of paper employed and has no tendency to injure the paper. The mechanismV is simple and may be readily embodied in a press without interfering with the other nechanisms. l n

lVhile I have illustrated myinvention as applied vto a printing press, and have-described, vsuch press and the mechanism adapted thereto with considerable detail, it should be noted 4that I do notintend to limit myself to the control of printing presses, as my essential invention is adaptable for various types of machinery acting on the articles fed to an active position. Certain of the euppendedv claims are on their facelimited to the combination with a printino' mechanism, but as to others, it is not intended to so limit them except in cases where theprior art so requires.

I claim:

l. The combination of two cooperating members adapted to act on interposed material, means for drawing such material betweenithemembers, a shiftable rotative-testing device, means for'shifting it-into engagement with the material, and mechanism axially connected with said device and driven by its rotation while in such engage-l ment to control the mutual presentation of said members to each other. Y v y 2. In a machine ofthe character described, the combination of a flat type bed, a platen, a gripperon-the platen, a paper table, a

testing device located adjacent the path of the paper from the table to the gripper, and comprising a member mounted on a bodily shiftable rotative shaft, periodically acting mechanism for shifting the shaft to move said member into engagement with the paper, whereby said shaft is given a rotative movement caused by the' traveling paper, al

cam'on the shaft, and mechanism actuated by the cam for cont-rolling the mutual presentation 'of' they platen and bed.v

3. y The combination of' aprinting member, a platen, latch mechanismadapted to hold thesame in coaction, mechanismfadaptedto restrain the lat'ching' mechanism from suchv action, Ymeans fof gripping 5 and vdrawing the paper and means actuated-by frictional en` ti l) iii) gag-ement with the paper when gripped'tor causing said restraining mechanism to release said latching` mechanism.

1l.. The combination, With a type bed and platen, means tor causing the paper to enrageV and move with the platen ot a roller adapted to engage the paper and be turned on its axis when snch paper moves, and mechanism actuated by the turning ot said roller for causing the platen and type bed to be maintained in coaction.

5. rllhe combination of a printing` member, a platen having,` a gripper, mechanism to change the presentation ot the printing member and platen, latching mechanism adapted to maintain the printing member and platen in printing` coaction, mechanism lor holding the latching mechanism inactive, and mechanism operated by the moven'ient ot paper gripped by the platen. for causing` such holding mechanism to tree said latch.

6. The combination ot a type bed, a shittable roller platen having a gripper, mechanism to shitt the platen to and trom coaction with the type bed, a latch dapted to hold the platen in its active position, mechanism tor holding the latch inactivo, and mechanism operated by the movement oi" paper gripped by the plat-en Yfor causing said holding mechanism to free said latch.

7,. The combination with a printing member and. a shiitable platen adapted to coact therewith, ol2 mechanism for moving paper into printing,l position between said memberl and platen, mechanism operating periodically to lnfing the platen into active position with relation' to the printing member and then relea it, a latch adapted to maintain the platen in snch active position When released by tlie moving mechanism, and paper testing mechanism adapted to control the latch and including` a member moved by the advancingl paper While under the control oi the tirst mentioned mechanism.

S. The combination with a printing member and platen, one ot vvnich is shittable into and ont ot coaction With the other, means on the platen for gripping paper, a roller adapted to engage such gripped paper and be turned thereby, means 'tor movingl the roller into and out ot engagement with the paper, and mechanism actuated by the tnrning' ot said roller when in engagement with said paper tor controlling' the presentation ot the platen and type member.

9. rllhe combination with a type bed and a shittable roller platen adapted to coact therewith, ot' n'iechanism tor advancingr paper to be printed, mechanism operating periodically to bring,l theA platen into active position with relation to the type bed and then release it, a latch adapted to maintain the platen in such active position When released by the moving mechanism, a restraining device t'or holding,- the latch idle, a roller,

type bed, a shiitab'le roller platen, gripper on the platen, mechanism for periodically shitting the platen into and ont ol coaction with the bcd, latch mechanism adapted toretain it in such coaction, a straining device for the latch mechanism, a device adapted to en= age the gripped paper and be operated by `Ihe travel thereotI 'lior `causingl said restraining device to release the latch mechanism.

l2. The combination ot a reciprocating type bed, a shittable ro'ller platen coacting,y therewith, mechanism lfor movingl the platen periodically into and ont of coaction with the type bed` a latch mechanism for holding it in coaction, a restraining device for holding;` the latch mechanism in idle position, a paper `gripper on the platen, a roller adapted tobe brought periodically into engagement with the paper gripped by the gripper, and means controlled by the turningv or such roller by reason ot the travel ot the paper to cause the restraining device to release the latch meehanism.

13. The vcombine-.tion of a prii'iting;- member, an eccentrically mounted platen, mechanism tor periodically turning such mounting to present the platen to the printing mein-- ber, a roller adapted to engage paper being ted by the platen, and me is controlled by thc rotation oi such roller for detcrmininici the position of the eccentric mounting on the platen.

let. The coinbination olil a printing' member, an eccentrically mounted platen, mechanism tor periodically turning snch mounting lo present the platen to the printing; member, a roller, means tor ad vancin g paper toward printing, position, mea s for moving;l the roller into engagement with a sheet ot paper after it has contacted vvith the platen, and i'ncans controlled by the rotation ot such roller .tor determining the position ol the eccentric mounting on the platen.

l5. The combination ol:l a print-ing,- member, an eccentrically mounted platen coacting therewith, means ytor periodically turnthe eccentric mounting to present the platen to the printing member, latch mechanism 'for holding it in this position, a roller iii) adapted to engage paper being drawn to the printing poeition by the platen, and means whereby the rotation ot' said roller releases the latch mechanism to enable it to maintain the platen in its active position.

1G. yil`he combination ot a printing :neem ber, a re'ller platen adapted to coaet therewith7 means tor causing the platen and printing member te assume active or inactive mutual positions, a gripper on the platema paper table along which paper may be fed to the gripper.r` a roller, means for moving it into eng `ement with the paper between the table and gripper ai'ter the gripper has engaged the paper, and means conti-felled by the turning of the roller or controlling Such mutual position.

17. The combination of a printing member, a roller platen adapted to coact therewith, means for periodically bringing the platen ancl printing member into coaction, latch mechanism for maintaining this coaction, a paper gripper on the platen7 a paper table along which paper may be feel to the gripper, a device adapted to engage the paper between the table and gripper and being moved by the travel of the paper when grippecl7 ancl means whereby the movement of said device releases the latch mechanism to enable it t active position.

n testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

y HENRY C. OSBORN.

to maintain thel platen in itsl 

